Chapter 74

Chapter 74: I Knew There Was a Mole!

The preparations for the press conference progressed very smoothly and were scheduled to take place three days later.

After all, organizing such events was exactly the responsibility of the public relations department, which had dealt with various media outlets for many years.

However, the dissolution of the Wildcat Group did not proceed so smoothly.

When Masato Arai arranged interviews with the Wildcat Group members, Masato Oda, head of the Planning Department, suddenly barged in and said:

“Sorry, Arai-san. It seems one of the idols under my supervision entered the wrong room.”

He then directly led away Ayano Fukuhara, the group’s cute representative, along with Saka Nonaka, the main vocalist.

The remaining members of the Wildcat Group were left completely confused.

“Damn it! I knew there was a mole! Someone tipped them off!”

Upon hearing the news, Etsuro Kikuchi smashed a pen holder in anger.

“No wonder the paparazzi showed up so quickly! That damned Weekly Bunshun… no wonder! No wonder!”

Masato Arai cautiously asked, “What about the dissolution of the Wildcat Group?”

The Planning Department already held greater authority over idol management than the Public Relations Department. Combined with the current situation of the PR chief, once the Planning Department had taken two members away, the PR side had no chance of reclaiming them.

“Aren’t there still a few left?! Damn it! Make all of them retire!”

His powerless rage could only be directed at the remaining members.

Several days later, Nagayama Naoki and the other two sat in the studio watching the live broadcast of the press conference.

“Oda-san, are we certain that Mihina Ono, Hisa Akiyama, and Ayano Katagiri have all terminated their contracts?”

“Yes. I asked acquaintances to confirm it.”

Shuichi Ito, sitting nearby, remarked, “I didn’t expect Ayano-chan to connect herself with Masato Oda ahead of time. She looked so small and adorable, yet she’s quite calculating.”

“In the entertainment industry, artists struggling to survive all have some degree of calculation,” Nagayama Naoki said, shaking his head.

“The main reason is probably that Ayano Fukuhara and Saka Nonaka fit Masato Oda’s idol standards better. One has a cute image, the other can truly sing.

The remaining members carry more mature and sexy labels. Otherwise, they might have been chosen instead.”

Yoshimura Daitomo asked, “So should we contact the others now?”

“We can reach out privately for now. After the situation settles down, we’ll sign them to the GG Agency,” Nagayama Naoki said after reviewing the timeline in his mind.

“September coincides with the final three episodes of ‘Yonimo Kimyo na Monogatari’. Signing them at the end of the month will be fine. We should also use this time to reconsider how the agency and future idols will be managed.”

“Yonimo Kimyo na Monogatari” had already gathered a loyal audience at the television station. Its imaginative concepts and unexpected twists attracted urban young viewers, and its short episode length suited busy working people.

As a result, the newly established Tree Friends Films, along with director Shuichi Ito and editor Nagayama Naoki, had also begun to leave a strong impression on many fans.

“Naoki-san,” Shuichi Ito suddenly remembered as the meeting ended, “some production companies have been asking about you.”

“What? Asking about what?”

“They seem to want to invite you to work as a screenwriter.”

“Haha, spare me,” Nagayama Naoki laughed. “Writing scripts makes people go bald.”

“But aren’t you a novelist?” Yoshimura Daitomo chuckled. “Shouldn’t scripts be easy for you?”

After publishing a novel, Nagayama Naoki’s image had risen significantly in their eyes, allowing him to feel firsthand how highly writers were regarded in Japanese society.

“As long as I think too much, brain cells start dying,” Nagayama Naoki declined tactfully. “I’d rather protect my brain.”

Meanwhile, at the Wildcat Group dormitory, Mihina Ono helped Ayano Fukuhara and Saka Nonaka pack their luggage. As the oldest member and the group leader and visual representative, she had always treated the others like younger sisters.

The five of them had struggled together in the entertainment industry. They could not truly be called sisters, but they had relied on each other for warmth.

Looking back, less than half a year had passed since they were worthless gravure models who had slowly gained recognition as an idol group, yet they had already experienced many events.

They had previously been asked to attend drinking parties and dinners, but the sudden demand for “pillow business” shocked even Mihina Ono, not just Hisa Akiyama, the person directly involved.

Since Ayano Fukuhara and Saka Nonaka had also transitioned from modeling, they likely learned the inside story of the PR arrangements and thus leaked the information.

Perhaps the entire incident had been orchestrated by the Planning Department chief from the beginning.

Their earlier silence already counted as a betrayal of the group.

The two girls had very little luggage in their dorm room. Like the group’s shallow career history, everything was packed quickly.

Mihina Ono escorted them to the entrance.

“Ayano-chan, Saka-chan, take care.”

“Thank you for everything, Mihina-chan. We hope everything goes well for you too.”

Outside the dormitory stood a black Toyota. A manager in a black suit sat in the driver’s seat, watching the girls load their luggage into the trunk without even getting out to help.

Having aligned themselves with BURNING’s Planning Department chief, Mihina Ono, with her limited experience in the industry, could not determine whether that choice was truly correct.

Returning to the dorm, she saw Hisa Akiyama pretending to read a magazine.

“You can stop pretending. They’ve already left.”

“Tch. I just don’t want to talk to traitors.”

Ayano Katagiri emerged from her room looking worried.

“What should we do, Mihina-chan? We’re going to be forced into retirement.”

“So what? We’ll just go back to shooting gravure magazines,” Hisa Akiyama said, putting down the magazine and gulping orange juice. “The money won’t be much different anyway. Better than doing pillow business.”

Despite being the group’s sexy representative, Hisa Akiyama possessed a surprisingly straightforward personality. When asked to engage in pillow business, she directly resisted and was slapped.

Although the Wildcat Group had gained some fame, they were still bottom-tier artists. Their management contracts remained the same ones signed earlier with STARLIGHT Agency. Their monthly salaries had barely increased; only appearance fees had risen slightly.

If they still had to engage in pillow business for that pay, they might as well earn more working at nightclubs.

“But things are still better now than when we were completely unknown…” Ayano Katagiri said reluctantly.

Many artists chase fame their entire lives without ever achieving recognition.

The Wildcat Group had finally begun to gain momentum.

If they had not been traded away, perhaps they could have left a mark in the entertainment industry.

Mihina Ono shook her head helplessly. Being the oldest, she knew that if nothing improved within a year or two, she might retire and marry.

“Don’t overthink it. Our contracts are still with STARLIGHT Agency. Whether we truly retire isn’t certain yet.”

Retirement, however, was inevitable.

After hearing the news, STARLIGHT Agency president Kenichi Hino had already prepared to terminate their contracts. These artists were no longer truly under his control, and he had no intention of offending Etsuro Kikuchi, who was now cornered.

A desperate beast, after all, would bite anyone it could catch.